Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another Sajibidab, your host Alvaro, all the way from Miami, and we are back to talk about most interesting aspects that related to luxury, today the topic is going to be real estate, and we are not going to be talking only about what's happening here in Miami, but we're going to be heading all the way to Marvaya to have one of the most successful real estate brokers. His name is Ulu, and he is the head of expansion at Burchire Halfaway Services, which is one of the leading sources of real estate in Marvaya and around the world. So he's going to talk about one of the reasons Marvaya has become one of the pre-dominary sources in the country, as well as the importance of the global alliances that they've built to become one of the leading companies in this industry. Okay, Pasa, what's happening?
El Rey de Miami, Babi. I wear this one just for you. You know that's my favorite color. I don't like it.
I look like Chris Brosnan in the secret in the Thomas Crown Affair. But look at you, you're always a gentleman. Always with a suit, shame, with a nice hair. What's happening?
I got to do it here, Marvaya finally, somewhere here. It's good to see you. By the way, I'm surprised you're actually Miami once and for all. After all these travels one day, you're in Dubai, the other year in Maldives, the other year in LA.
You don't stop my friend. Next stop, hopefully, Marvaya. I have been waiting for you for the past few months, so here we are. Can't wait to have you here.
I see you're taking care of your time here, but not myself. So you're doing a good job there. I am. Thank you very much.
I'm very proud of it. Now, Marvaya is one of the most iconic locations, not just in Spain, but around the world for the amazing weather, the beautiful homes, the quality of lifestyle. So you're here with us today, which by the way, thank you for joining. To tell us a little bit about your story, obviously, but also about what is going on in Marvaya that is making it so appealing for everybody to go there.
Absolutely. First of all, thank you very much for having me. It's always a pleasure to sit down and have a chat with you. Marvaya was a small fisherman village.
In the 60s, we had the Hochenoa family, ocean aristocrats that discovered our town and came here and set up a small gortejo kind of Finka, which is the Marvaya club, which has exponentially grown to one of the leading hotels in the world for nowadays. However, it started, as I said, a small village fisherman, very local and since the 60s, all the way to the 80s, it became the to go to destination for royalty and VIPs from all over the world. Marvaya, honestly, has become, as you said, a pre-motor resource for those that are looking to have an amazing lifestyle. And you are obviously with one of the strongest companies in the world when it comes to real estate.
And you are the head of expansion in Marvaya. So that's about the product. Like, what exactly you were currently managing when it comes to our portfolio? Absolutely.
We are a boutique, actually, real estate agency established 11 years ago by two school friends by Luca de Moreland, John and Screw Leggo. Just shy of 12 months, they became part of the selected global network of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. So we specialized on the high end segment of the market here in Marvaya, anything about 2 million euro. It doesn't mean that we don't touch any properties below the 2 million market, but more or less, that's the average.
And Marvaya is not so big in terms of real estate and product portfolio. It's a highly competitive environment. I mean, there's more real estate agencies here than pharmacies. So Marvaya is a hub when it comes to an actual real estate.
When it comes to Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Marvaya, we're a small team. We intend to keep it small. We try to differentiate ourselves by the service that we provide. That was a little bit about how you showcase and how you actually talk about the lifestyle rather than the product.
Marvaya is a lot about the lifestyle. It sounds very cliche and even a bit cheesy to say it, but it is about the lifestyle. You're the definition of it, man. You're the definition of it, man.
You're the beta, the beta, the beta, the beta, the beta, the beta, we try to have a good balance. And at the end of the day, you're from Madrid. So you know how different Madrid can be to Marvaya, for example, or to New York or to a lay or to Miami. So I think Marvaya, Miami, for example, can have many similarities.
So the way we do business here is very different. We need to sell the lifestyle. It's not only about the asset itself. We are starting to see more leniency from the fiscal authorities when it comes to taxation for foreign buyers.
And it's all a package and the proximity to main cities, especially with Northern Europe, I mean, in two, four hours you're in any city in Europe, you know, especially after COVID with all the remote working and how people have adapted to the new, they've taken the challenge of not being able to physically be at their companies or offices. And Marvaya has seen a tremendous growth when it comes to people relocating and conducting business from here. Love it. I mean, definitely seems like Marvaya has been and will continue to be the destination preferred for many, not just Spanish citizens, but also all around the world.
So I definitely look forward to seeing how it's going to continue growing and having obviously individuals like yourself that not only focus on showcasing the product, but the lifestyle and the story that has behind. So that's great. Now my question to you, because you are always, you know, we relate in that sense, a connector. I see you also traveling, you were in econos, you were also in Middle East not too long ago.
And you are, I guess, what you call it, the connector, right? You're creating these bridges and expanding the global alliances that your company offers. So tell us a little bit about what your strategy when it comes to partnerships and how it has helped you. With pleasure.
Now, this, our generation, we're very lucky to have technology at our reach in terms of how it's transformed the way we do business. However, there is a certain segment of clientele when it comes to luxury real estate that still requires physical interaction, face and face interaction. Even if it's just for a dinner, a lunch, just to, you know, check in, see how things are going. It doesn't, it doesn't have to be a personal meeting too close to the old to sign some contracts or whatnot.
But there are certain specific clients that need that face to face. So in our case, what we try to do, Marvaya is a place where purchasers come a couple of times per year. Therefore, we sometimes have to go to them instead of them coming to us. Marvaya, for many, many decades, has been also a hub for royalty from the Gulf countries, from the GCC Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates.
And Marvaya has a longstanding tradition and the cultural affinity to the Middle East that no other city in the whole world has. A lot of investment from these countries is currently in Marvaya. We have a big network, strong network there. My job is to take our brand and our name and offer a more personalized and tailored service and interaction with our clients and not clients and collaborators.
And also, something that I find very interesting and that's super luxury because this is what we're really focused on is understanding the lifestyle of our clients. In that sense, because when you focus on that, you know where to look at this type of people. Like, for example, myself, the reason I travel is because everywhere I go, or everywhere we go as a company, we are surrounded by the same type of clientele because they all move in the same circles. You know, here in the stage, we call it the triangle.
It's New York, Los Angeles, Miami. But the same game is applied internationally. You know, those that are in Miami, where do they go in the summer? They go to Europe, you know, either they go to the Hamtos in the States or they try to transition to Europe, which hopefully things are going to be open enough more.
They go to Marvaya. They go to Visa, they go to Miconos, they go to Turkey. So that's something that I believe it's really important to understand. Now, in your personal experience, what's been the number one source for you to acquire clients?
Well, since the pandemic hits, obviously, online has been important, but to a certain extent, I mean, we don't get clients from online leads, if that's your question. Our clients for the past 11 years have come word of mouth recommendations, referrals from other collaborators. I mean, very much Marvaya is a small town and there's about five to six international schools. And our generation, which work in real estate, we all grew up together.
We all studied together. We all know each other. We're in speed dial, even if we're competitors, but we're very good friends. Therefore, we have a very close network and how business is done here, not only ours, but I think the leading agencies is by word of mouth and recommendations.
And it's all about the product. If you have the good product, if you have high quality product, they will come to you. They will call you. Marvaya is proving to be the best example.
Whenever a villa alvaro goes into the market, which is fully furnished, which is key ready in a good location, how I call it, it's an honest product, good value for money, it will sell within three months, no shadow of that. If you have that same property fully furnished, but you have the same property, semi-furnished or even unfinished, it won't sell. It's that equation here in Marvaya. Good to know.
So Hugo, one last question. I mean, you always, I love your personality. You're always smiling, happy, energetic, positive, which is contagious. Is there anything in particular that you do on your routine or that you require throughout this year to keep that mindset?
Well, no, it's not always easy, especially in this business, as you may know. There's so many parties involved and you can't always keep a smile at all times of the day, even though it's a way forward if you're in this business. But when the typical say, where people in real estate say, our business is all about people, yes, it is about people, but it's also about professionalism, integrity, honesty and transparency. And unfortunately, in our city, it's something that lacks.
So it's very important for us to keep doing our thing, in my case, to stay positive, just knowing that every day I give it my best, I'm not being shady with anyone, I'm 100% transparent, what you see is what you get, okay, this is okay, I can always say this in a spaniel. And also, I always say it, I grew up in this town, I'm not going to go anywhere regardless of my international travels and being abroad for so many years, like you were studying abroad and whatnot, but this is my home, and I want to go to a restaurant at night and have dinner with a peace of mind that I'm not going to be sitting next to someone that I've tried to trick over a deal or another collaborator or another agent that I've gone through their back. So that's more or less on a personal level how I keep myself safe. No, no, it's great.
You're talking about the values, and I believe that values is really the DNA. You know, when you focus on your values and you have the same DNA with somebody else's values, it's a connection right there. And when you said the peace of mind that you're doing things the right way. So thank you, I don't know if there's any last takeaways or anything that we haven't discussed?
Well, we could sit here for a while. I think we'll do that in Marvaia with a big task of you. I mean, I already told you back in a few months ago when I invited you to be my guest in one of my conversations, I mean, your reference, an inspiration when it comes to content creation online, thinking out of the box. I mean, you're a Spanish national foreigner in a foreign country making an aim for yourself and it's really inspiring.
So keep up the good work. And hopefully we'll get to play some tennis when you come to Marvaia. Absolutely, absolutely. I won't be dumping up a thing with you when I go to Miami.
I'm telling you now. No, no, come on, man. You're completely insane, by the way. I don't even know how you do that.
It will keep me there, but it's going to happen eventually. Anyway, once I last thank you again for everything and thank you everybody that was doing it. Please make sure to follow who is an amazing guy, very knowledgeable in the market and very inspirational also to all the things that he's doing. So thanks again, Hugo.
And my pleasure. Thank you. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it.
And remember, embrace it's beautiful, success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.